Entertainment Department

The Canadian National Exhibition’s Entertainment Department was created in 1981 as a result of the restructuring of the CNE that followed upon the recommendations of a 1979 Management Review. The Entertainment Department effectively replaced the Music Department and continued to carry out most of the same functions.

The Entertainment Department was responsible for seeking out, organizing, and promoting entertainment and musical events during the CNE, from stage acts to parades and strolling entertainment. The Entertainment Department worked with a number of organizations to produce the annual CNE entertainment programme, including the Warriors Day Parade Council, the Toronto Musicians’ Association, the Labour Council of Metropolitan Toronto and York Region, the Salvation Army, and a number of local musicians groups, dance companies, and community groups.

In its first year, the Entertainment Department was run by an Entertainment Manager, Cliff Hunt [Lt. Col. C. O. Hunt], and an Entertainment Coordinator, Catherine (Cathy) Gillies. These two positions were directly transferred from the former Music Department, where Cliff Hunt had been the Music Department Manager since the early 1970s, with Cathy Gillies as his Secretary. After the reorganization, the Entertainment Department fell under the new Assistant General Manager of Marketing (along with other departments like Attractions, Agriculture, and Sales).

In 1982, further reorganization resulted in the elimination of the Entertainment Manager position and the creation of an Attractions Manager position, which was filled by Pat Martin, formerly the Sports Department Manager. Cathy Gillies remained as the Entertainment Coordinator reporting directly to the Attractions Manager.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the title of the Entertainment Coordinator and Attractions Manager changed frequently, but the functions of the department remained the same. In 1984, the Attractions Manager became the Programs Manager, who oversaw all Attractions Coordinators, including the one for the Entertainment Department. In 1990, Cathy Gillies’s title changed back to Entertainment Coordinator, then to Senior Coordinator in 1993.

In 1998, Linda Montanari, formerly the Attractions Department Coordinator, replaced Cathy Gillies as the Coordinator for the Entertainment Department. She was then replaced by Danielle Bourré as Event Manager for the Entertainment Department in 2000.

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